The present invention relates to handset holders. In particular, it relates to the mounting of a handset cradle on a surface, such as the mounting of a car cradle on a vehicle dashboard.
Handsfree car kits for handsets such as mobile telephone handsets have been developed, which provide connection of the handset with an external antenna to improve the reception of a call.
In one type of car kit, the cradle is fixed to the mount. If the user wishes to take a call privately, as opposed to in handsfree mode, he removes the handset from the cradle. However, by doing this he sacrifices the connection to the external antenna.
Another car kit is the Nokia CARK-1, in which the cradle is magnetically coupled to the mount. This car kit is shown in FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings. In this case, if the user wishes to take a call privately, as opposed to in handsfree mode, he picks up the cradle and handset and removes it from the vicinity of the mount. The external antenna connection is maintained. However, the cradle and mount might come apart if there is a sudden movement of the vehicle, for example by heavy braking or during an accident. If so, this may result in damage to the phone and also injury to the user. Also, the mechanism of this car kit has a large number of parts which complicates its assembly and increases manufacturing time and costs.